something soupy

Hello. So we finally ventured away from the coconut-craze - with very little protest from Carmen's side. Feeling decidedly inspired by the idea of yet another cooking exploit, we thought we would try something new to the both of us... red pepper soup. How peculiar a creation. 

Anyhoo, we found today's recipe in the Lose It! magazine and, as per usual, adapted it to suit our rather particular fancy. 

creamy red pepper & tomato soup 

with basil meatballs

[serves 2]

3 red peppers

1 onion

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 x 400g tin whole or chopped tomatoes

500ml chicken stock

120ml fresh cream

3 tablespoons of butter

250g beef mince

1 egg

3 teaspoons of psyllium husks

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

5 basil leaves (finely chopped)

peel, deseed and roughly chop the peppers

melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pot and fry the onion and paprika until soft

add the peppers and fry for a further 5 minutes

add the tinned tomatoes and stock and simmer for about 25 minutes 

(leave the lid of the pot off)

take the pot off the heat and place the soup into a blender and blitz until smooth

(we used a food processor for this)

combine the mince, egg, psyllium husks, garlic and chopped basil in a medium sized bowl

(the best utensil for this is certainly one's hands)

season the meatball mix to your own preference

roll the mixture into small balls and set aside

melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and fry the meatballs until they are cooked through and beautifully browned

set the meatballs aside and keep the cooking juices (and by juices we mean delicious fats) in the pan

return the soup to the stove and add the cooking juices 

add the cream and stir until the soup is heated through

season the soup to taste

serve the soup with the meatballs and garnish the dish with a few basil leaves

happy fooding!